The Improperly Pregnant Princess. Jacqueline Diamond

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       Three

      Dax whistled a nameless tune as he pulled open the door to EA International. Deliberately late, and not at all sorry.

      Today, he was in charge, and Elise would not get the drop on him again. He’d give her enough information to make it seem that he was going along willingly, simultaneously dragging out their interaction a little longer. Long enough to figure out what about Elise got under his skin, anyway. Then he was done here.

      “Morning, Angie.” Dax smiled at the receptionist and handed her the vase of stargazer lilies he’d brought. “For you. Is Ms. Arundel’s calendar free?”

      Angie moistened her lips and smiled in return. “Cleared, just as you requested yesterday. Thanks for the flowers. They’re beautiful.”

      “I’ll show myself to Ms. Arundel’s office.” He winked. “Don’t tell her I’m coming. It’s a surprise.”

      When Dax blew through the door of Elise’s office, the location of which he’d noted yesterday on his way out, the look on her face was more wary disbelief than surprise.

      “Look what the cat dragged in,” was all she said and ignored him in favor of typing on her laptop. The clacking was too rhythmic to produce actual comprehensible sentences.

      Faking it. For him. Warmed his heart.

      “I’m taking you to lunch,” he informed her. “Get your handbag and shut that thing down.”

      That earned her attention. She pierced him with that laser-sharp gaze he suspected had the power to drill right through his skull and read his mind like a book. “Are you this egotistical with all women? I’m shocked you ever get a second date.”

      “Yet I do. Have lunch with me and you’ll find out why.” He quirked a brow at her and pulled out the big guns. “Unless you’re afraid.”

      She didn’t scowl, didn’t immediately negate the statement. Instead, she smiled and clicked the laptop closed. “Can’t stand being under the spotlight, can you? If you don’t like the setting I use to walk through the profile questions, just tell me.”

      A spontaneous and unexpected laugh shot from his mouth. Why was it such a surprise that she was on to him?

      He held up both hands. “I surrender. You’re right. That little room with the fish book is like being in therapy. Restaurants are more relaxed.”

      Elise opened a desk drawer and withdrew a brown leather bag. “Since my schedule is mysteriously clear, lunch it is. On one condition.” She cocked her head, sending her dark hair swinging against her chin. “Don’t evade, change the subject or try to outsmart me. Answer the questions so we can be done.”

      “Aww. You’re not enjoying this?” He was. It was the most fun he’d had with a woman he wasn’t dating in his life.

      “You’re quite honestly the most difficult, disturbing, contrary client I’ve ever dealt with.” She swept passed him in a cloud of unidentifiable perfume that hit him in the solar plexus, and then she shot back over her shoulder, “Which means you’re paying. But I’m driving.”

      He grinned and followed her to the parking lot, then slid into the passenger seat of the sleek Corvette she motioned to. He would have opened her door, but she beat him to it.

      New car smell wrapped around him. “Nice ride. I pegged you for more of a Toyota girl.”

      She shrugged. “Even fairy godmothers like to arrive at the ball in style.”

      “I’m not threatened by a woman driving, by the way.” He crossed his arms so he didn’t accidentally brush shoulders with Elise. The seats were really close together. Perfect for lovers. Not so good for business associates. “Just in case you were worried.”

      Elise selected an out-of-the-way bistro-type place without asking him and told the hostess they’d prefer to sit outside, also without his input. The wrought iron chairs and tables on the terrace added French charm and the wine list was passable, so he didn’t mind. But two could play that game, so he ordered a bottle of Chianti and nodded to the waiter to pour Elise a glass whether she wanted one or not.

      “To loosen you up?” she asked pertly and picked up her glass to sniff the bloodred wine with appreciation.

      “Nah. To loosen you up.” He dinged their rims together and watched her drink. Elise liked red wine. He filed that tidbit away. “I didn’t actually agree to your condition, you know.”

      “I noticed. I’m banking on the fact that you’re a busy man and can’t continually take time away from work to finish something you don’t want to be doing in the first place. So don’t disappoint me. What’s the difference between love, romance and sex?”

      Dax choked on the wine he’d just swallowed and spent his time recovering. “Give a guy a warning before you lay that kind of question on him.”

      “Warning. Question imminent. Warning. Question imminent,” she intoned in such a perfect robot voice, he sputtered over a second sip, laughing this time.

      For an uptight matchmaker, she had an offbeat sense of humor. He liked it. More than he should. It was starting to affect his focus and the more Elise charmed him, the less he remembered why it was important to punish her for Leo’s defection.

      “Let’s see,” he said brusquely. “Fiction, Sade and yes, please.”

      “Excuse me?”

      “The answer to your question. Love equals fiction, Sade is romantic music and critical to set the mood, and I would assume ‘yes, please’ is self-explanatory in relation to sex.”

      “That’s not precisely what I was looking for.”

      “Then tell me what you would say. So I have an example to go by.”

      “You never give up, do you?”

      “Took you long enough to figure that out. So?” he prompted with raised eyebrows.

      She sighed. “They’re intertwined so closely you can’t remove one without destroying the value of the other two.”

      “That’s a loaded statement. Tell me more before I proceed to tear it apart.” He propped his chin on his hand and ignored the halibut a waiter placed in front of him, which he scarcely recalled ordering.

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